If you were to travel back 5,000 years ago, you would see that women were treated very differently.
They were held in high regard and honored as the divine life-giving vessels that they are. Much of the world worshiped a female divinity and in many areas, prior to the rise of patriarchy, there was one Great Mother.
In Old Europe and the Near East, the Great Mother was fractured into a variety of Goddesses that represented a variety of archetypal energies that had once been unified in the One divine feminine Creatrix.
Proof of this goes back thousands of years and has been handed down to us through cave art and stone carvings. The oldest artifact of what is believed to the the Mother Goddess is 300,000 years old! And more recently, like 25,000 BCE, we begin to see more Venus figurines. Representations of the Goddess in statuettes and art proliferated for 30,000 years, into the Bronze Age.
In more recent ancient times, specific goddesses from each culture were revered and celebrated for their sensual and life giving qualities.
Fridays were treated as goddess days across cultures.
The word “Friday” in English is derived from the Norse goddess Freyja, while “vendredi” in French (and its associated forms in the Romance languages) comes from Venus.
The 13th was celebrated as an even more special day, as a day of feasts, because 13 is a number that is sacred to the feminine.
There are 13 moon cycles throughout the year, which corresponds to 13 menstrual cycles. The menstrual cycle was itself very sacred as it represented a time of deep connection to the Goddess in which women were at their most powerful.
This was a time of blood, fertility, magic and lunar potency.
But part of how the patriarchy rose to power was through the destruction and defilement of the ancient ways through usurping, propagandizing and gaslighting. One of the ways that they did that was to turn the power of the day into a sinister day.
This accomplished an important-to-their-agenda goal: it reinforced the propaganda of of the number 13, sacred to the goddess, as being “sinister.” (Also noteworthy is that the word “sinister” is connected to “sin.” Originally, “sin” referred to someone who followed the left-hand path of the Goddess. It was not evil at all…unless you’re trying to make the Goddess out to be a defilement of nature.?
As a result of this takedown of the divine feminine, Friday became known as the day that:
- Eve enticed Adam into biting the apple
- Adam was expelled from Eden
- Adam died
- Jesus partook of the Last Supper before being crucified
There also needed to be some vilification of the 13th, so the patriarchy focused on the unluckiness of there being 13 present at that supper. A myth even formed from this that you would die within a year of eating at a table with 12 others.
It can be super powerful to reclaim Friday the 13th.
Friday and 13 is a high holy day for women and a most potent day for anyone who taps into the divine feminine magic to connect with Herself, with the Goddess, and Nature. Your intuition will be heightened and your capacity to heal amplified when you connect into this portal.
To support you in this reclamation, I created this 13 card tarot spread to guide you in healing patriarchal wounding. You can do this on your own or include it in a ceremony. (Highly recommended! 
)
For this card spread, choose as your point of inquiry something that you want to heal vs. something predictive. Friday the 13th is a reclamation of your power – what would you like to transform in order to experience more of that?
This spread is in the shape of the Cross of Camargue, Mary Magdalene’s cross, which combines the symbolism and energies of both the Cross and an anchor (with a heart in the center), which correspond to the virtues of hope, faith and charity
Even just taking a little bit of time out of your day to honor and nourish yourself can be a powerful reclamation though as well. Enjoy a nice bath, pull cards, journal, whatever feels like a way to honor yourself.
How does this resonate with you? What comes up for you as you re-member this part of your sacred ancestry? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Love,
Janet
This totally resonates today. A very wet and cold day here in Ireland. I will run a warm bath and have head massage. Time out.
Thank you
💗💗💗💗
This is so accurate with my cards. Wow. Incredibly insightful. Thank you
Cora, I love that! It’s a beautiful pull; I’m so greatful for the insight you got!